Persuasive technology tries to change the way users think and behave. This area of computer science combines multiple disciplines to harness the way users interact with technology to create changes in the way they perceive the world around them. Persuasive technology applications can include advertising, health education, and political activism. Many examples are ubiquitous and users may not be aware of how the technology around them affects their behaviour, habits and attitudes.
Many voters believe that the negative campaign ad has lost much of its effectiveness.
The principles of psychology play a key role in persuasive technology, which aims to convince people to adopt changes in their lives, rather than trying to coerce them. Psychology explains how and why people respond to persuasive arguments and illustrates how different environments can affect a user’s response. People may view a source on the Internet as more trustworthy, for example, if it is presented in plain text on a website with a gloomy visual appearance, in contrast to a cluttered website full of bright colors and animations. Changes in the design and structure of the site may have an impact on the way people use the site.
Persuasive technology can be used to advertise new or improved electronic products.
Advertising researchers have conducted extensive experiments in persuasive technology to determine how people can be persuaded to make purchases and change their buying habits. The research provides insights into the advertising techniques used on technology platforms, from displaying banners on websites to advertising kiosks in shopping malls. Information from advertising research helps people create political awareness campaigns, public health outreach, and other forms of persuasive technology.
Habits and attitudes can be deeply ingrained and it may take a slow and subtle approach to create change in the way people behave. Persuasive technology harnesses human psychology to effect these changes in campaigns that can target a variety of groups. Designers need to consider who they want to influence, as different groups can have very different responses to campaigns. For example, a campaign can build mutual trust through a social network to attract younger Internet users.
Research on this topic also raises some ethical questions. People who know how to influence people can abuse this to promote persuasive anti-social tech campaigns. Some researchers are interested in possible abuses, such as the use of scare campaigns to sway voters with frightening and false information. Understanding how, when, and why people respond to the materials they encounter can be helpful in fighting these campaigns or filing lawsuits related to campaigns that are unfair or libelous.
